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busy is good, right?

Julia Child said one should never apologize for the outcome of the meal they prepared, even if didn’t quite come out the way it was supposed to. Or something like that. I tend to ignore her advice all the time but I will try applying it here by remaining silent about our upkeep of the blog and just carry on with more news from the big Swiss adventure.

Finally

the sun has come out and it is warm, even after the sun eventually goes down (this happens late, which is also really a treat because it makes you feel like you have a lot more hours in the day). For a while, it did feel like the gray, cold, and gloom would never end. In April, a giant snowman in Zurich predicted a crappy summer. The snowman, called the böögg is the highlight of a special spring festival in Zurich called Sechseläuten. It gets set on fire and burns till its head explodes and the longer that takes, the worse the summer. I guess this is a Swiss take on groundhog day. Normally, I was told, the snowman’s prediction is wrong, but this year it turns it he might have been correct. Nevertheless, after we skipped over Spring, Summer arrived and people seemed to come out of the woodwork. Zurich seems like a different city now, very alive, very happy, very bright.

cute bar around the corner from the offices

It seems like there are hundreds of cafes, bars, and restaurants with outside seating that is always filled up. It makes you want to be outside and in the past few weeks, we have discovered some new neighborhoods, cute alleyways, and a very lively lake culture.

On weekends, there are mobs of sunbathers and swimmers surrounding the lake. So far I have put in a foot or two but it feels really cold to be temped to jump in. It does look so clean, blue, and refreshing though, so maybe one of these days.

perfect stopping place on the way home

We are keeping ourselves busy though! Before you know it, another week is gone by. One of the measuring sticks we have is how fast our bi-weekly German classes come up… We sometimes find ourselves cramming the night before the next class, to finish our homework! The busy feeling is overall a good one. It means there are still lots of things on “the list” of stuff to do but it also means there isn’t a ton of time sitting around feeling sad about missing friends or family or other things. I’d say we have met numerous friendly people, but making real new friends will probably take a bit longer and require more effort than either of us have given to that project. On the other hand, we have caught up with old friends and are really lucky to have friends from Davis who moved here too. And, truthfully, between the internet, cell phones, and the visits we’re getting, it is pretty hard to feel lonely!

the new addition

Since Switzerland has arguably the best public transportation in the world, I have very mixed feelings about my failure to embrace it 100%… After spending hours each week on trains, buses, train/bus stops in order to get to and from the barn, we decided to get a car. Door-to-door was easily a one hour commute, each way. And one unexpected thing at the barn (which happens all the time) could mean waiting an extra 30 or 60 minutes to catch the next bus. Turns out this really cuts into the whole high quality of life thing we are supposed to be enjoying. So long, boring, story short, we welcomed this cutie to our collection of things. It makes the old Prius seem big and could probably fit in side the old truck, but it sure is handy to park. Since getting the car, I have probably gained back 10 hours in my week and so far, the guilty feelings about driving have not outweighed the huge time and stress saver it is.